Feeding mechanism



1944- HLIEL DICKERMAN .FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Dec s, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 km. x

y 9,1944. H. E. nicKER AN 3 2,348,456

FEEDING MECHANISM Fileq Dec. 8, 1942 2.Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 9, 1944 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I 2,348,456 T f a FEEDING MECHANISM Hubert E. Dicker-man, Springfield, Mass. Application December 8, 1942, Serial No. 468,265

,5Claims. (o1.27 i 2.5)

This invention relates to improvements in feed mechanism and is directed more particularly to feed mechanism of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,188,473 issued to me on January 30, 1940.

The principal objects of this invention are directed to the provision in a feed mechanism such as shown in the above-mentioned patent, of means for separating the rolls of the pairs thereof in predetermined relative positions of the pairs of rolls.

oftentimes, in the feeding of strip material,

due to the action of the dies being fed with the strip or to the characteristics of the strip material or to various other causes, there is a tendency for the strip to crowd laterally or move out of alignment with the die members in one direction or the other which impairsthe operation,"

According to this invention, the rolls of a' pair are separated at a certain time of each cycle of operation, orat some predeterminedrelative position of'the pairs of rolls whereby the material being fed may, when outv of alignment with the die, be moved into the desired operating alignment thereby to obtain the desired accuracy and efliciency of operation. The rolls may be separated to release the material being fed by. the action of the feed mechanism or by the operating means therefor, all as may be desired.

The feeding apparatus of the invention is characterized by a novel combination and arrangement of parts to the end that the construction is eflicient in operation, easily and. readily adjustable within wide limits to suit various conditions of usage; and operates with a positive action for the purpose intended.

The various novel features and advantagesof the invention will be hereinafter observed in connection with the description of the present preferred form thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a feedingmechanism embodyingthe novel features ofthe invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the feed mechanism shown in Fig. 1; j

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional elevational view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig.4 is a similar view on Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a small scale perspective viewof a cam member which may be used with the mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and 2;, V e Fig. 6 is a small scale diagrammatic view to explain certain features of the invention;

Fig. 7 isa fragmentary side elevational view the line 4-4: of

illustrating how the shafts are held against rotatiomfl .7

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view .throughone of the, shafts and rolls having means associated therewith to prevent rotation of the shaft inone direction; t

Fig. 9 is a sectional elevational view on. the line 9-9. of Fig. 1 showing oneform of-rneans for separating the rolls of the feeding mechanism;

Fig. 10 is a plan view of mechanism for yieldingly holding the rolls of a pair in operableengagement;

Fig. 11 is an end elevational view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 10; and

Fig. 12 is a side elevational view of the anism shown in Figs. 10 and 11.

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With reference now to the drawings more in detail, the invention-will be fully described. 'It will be understood that various changes and. modifications maybe made inthe form ofthe mechanism without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.- The following description refers to the feeding of a strip of material to a die set but within the broad scope of the invention the mechanism is adapted for use in connection with various machines or tools and for feeding stock in various forms for various and numerous purposes.

Upper andlower die members of a die set are represented by 2 and 4 and these may carry various cooperating tools or devices which, as the said members 2 and 4 move toward and away from one another, act or work on the stock and perform various operations. The mechanism of the invention in the form thereof to be described is adapted to feed successive portions of strip material thereto for successive operations.

A base or support 6 has spaced longitudinal guides 8 extending from apart [0 which may be formed in any suitable manner for securin the mechanism to a machine or to enact the members of a' die set, such as the member 4. Th outer ends l2 of the guides, in the present form of the invention, extend inwardly towards one another more or less and are connected by a transverse member UL r w The extremities 16 of the guide are turned outwardly away from one" another to provide lugs, as

shown. A carriage indicated generally by 20 is reciprocable back and forth on the guides 8 and any suitable means, such as by caps 24 having a set screw or screws 22', see Fig. 7. The upper sides of members l2 are provided with vertically disposed slots 26.

Blocks such as 28 are movable up and down in said slots and a cap 30 extends between and is secured to the members 12. It has in threaded engagement therewith at opposite ends adjusting screws 34 which are provided with manually engageable members 36.

Springs 38 bear 011 .the .blocksf26 :so that by rotating the'screws in one direction or the other the compression of the springs may be varied to cause them to yieldingly bear on the blocks with more or less pressure as may be desired. A shaft 410 is secured at opposite ends against rotation in the block in any suitable manner as by set screws'fll', see Fig. 7. The shafts 22 and 40' haverolls 86 and 88 rotatable thereon, each in one direction all as will be hereinafter described.

.A transverse carriagemember 42 betweenguides 8 has upstanding side portions '44 disposed "adjacentinner sides ofguides 8. Plates 46 ontheouter sides of the said guides 8 and secured totheparts 44, are so arranged as "to. cooperate therewith, and form carriage 20 slidalole on the guides8.

A lower shaft 48 similar to shaft 22 isfixedin the members 44 against rotation and the upper ends of the :members 44 are provided with vertica'lly disposed slots 56. In these slots are blocks, similar to the blocks 28 that are slidable up and down in s1ots26 and a shaft .43 "is carried by'said blocks. A cap member 52 securedtoparlts '44 and similar to the cap 36 has screws 54 in threaded engagement therewith which carry manually engageable members 56. Springs 58 similar to the springs '38 yieldinglyibear L011 the'iblocks in the slots 50. The shaft 4-8'is secured against rotatiorrin parts 44 slm'ilarlytothe shaft 22 and shaft 43 is secured in the blocks similarly to shaft 40, as shown in Fig. '7.

Ears 60 extend outwardly from the plates 46 and rods 62 have their ends fixed therein in some suitable manner. The lugs 16 at theou-ter end of the support slidably receive the outer ends of the rods 62 which are-provided with screw threads 64 as shown.

Lock nuts 66, which may be of any suitable form, are in threaded engagement with the threaded ends 64ofthe rods'BZ anda tIIbe-BB" mayrather loosely embrace the rods to protect the threaded portions thereof. Springs .68 around the rods '62 extend from .the ears 611 to the lugs 16 and are arranged and adapted to .move the carriage .20 inwardly or to the left .after it has been moved to the right, as well as to-yieldingly resist movements of the carriage to the right. i

A cam member 14 may be secured insomesuitable manner to the member :2 ofth'e die setand it has end portions provided with actuating faces and dwell faces 16 and 18. The parts :are so arranged that as the upper die set member moves downwardly towards die member '4, the cam faces 76 act on rolls .80 of the carriage to bring about movement of the carriage relative to the support, in a direction to the right towardsthe outer end of the support.

This movement of the carriage is against the action of the springs 68 and when the die member 2 moves upwardly and rolls 6!) ride off from dwell faces 18 the carriage moves to the left from the position shown in Fig. .1.

parts 84 of the cam member 14. The guide or guides 82 serve to steady the parts which makes for rigidity and accuracy.

The carriage in Fig. 1 is shown in a position adjacent the outer end of the support which may be called the strip gripping position. A position at the left thereof may be called the feeding position. The nuts 66 may be adjusted so that the movement of the carriage 23 between feeding and gripping position may be varied to vary the length of the strip portion being fed to the die members.

As has been stated there is a pair of rolls 86 and 88 on the shafts 22 and 46 and there is a pair ofro'lls 9i) and 92 on the shafts 48 and 43. These rolls are mounted in some suitable manner on their respective shafts, as by pin bearings, for free rotation. in one direction only while they are held against rotation in an opposite direction by some suitable means such as clutches, pawls, or the like.

A well known .form of construction .is shown in Fig. 8 wherein pawls I116 in the form of cylinders are disposed in longitudinally extending radially disposed slots in a shaft such .as 22 as shown are arranged to look a roll such as 86 when it is attempted to .rotate the roll clockwise. Flat springs Ill} may beemployed to urge the .pawls to engage the roll and shaft while the roll on rotation in 'a counterclockwisedirection merely acts on the pawls to move them from engaging position In the form of the invention being described,

the rolls 8.3 and 9 2 are freely rotatable in .a

clockwise direction and held against rotation in opposite directions. Rolls B6 and 90 are freely rotatable in acouriterclodkwise direction and tion in sucha way that they hold the strip against movement to the right.

During the travel of the carriage to the right as aforesaid, the rolls 96 and '92 rotate freely in .the direction above described and roll along the strip. When the carriage reaches the limit of its stroke in gripping position and moves to the left to feeding position the rolls I96 and '92 are held against rotation as above described so as to grip or engage the strip and feed it to the left. During the feeding movement the rolls 86 and 88 permit feeding of the strip since they are free to .rotate when the carriage is carrying the strip towards the die set.

In each'stroke of the carriage between gripping and feeding positions and according to the arrangement and adjustment of the parts, the strip is advanced or .fed a desired amount or length to present successive portions or sections thereof to the die set.

' The screws 34 and 54 may be adjusted for the desired pressure. The rolls function with a rolling action to permit relative movements yielding coaction strips which may be wavy and V of uneven thickness may be fed in predetermined A guide or guides such as 82 are provided'in association with the support 6 at the left hand end thereof which as the die member 2 moves down- W y ge or operate against the surfaces or lengths. v I

Guide members 94 are pivoted at 96 .to the transverse member I4 and carry rolls 98 on their ends which may be grooved or otherwise formed to receive and guide stock into rolls 66 and :88. Slots W0 in members 94 receive clamp bolts I92 in threaded engagement with member I 4'which hold the members in adjusted positions to accommodate stock or strips of various'widths. 1

Levers IIB' are pivoted on the shaft 43 atopposite ends of roll 92 and where used the said roll 92 is slightly'less in face than" the roll therebelow. The said lever H has a tongue part I I2 which is adapted to pass beneath theshaft 40 of the roll 88. 1 i I Studs H4 project from themembers 44 and the levers III) have adjusting screws H6 in threaded engagement therewith for abutting the said studs II4. Cam faces H8 of the levers I II). are arranged to engage the shaft 40 and cam it upwardly at the proper time. I

The adjusting screws H6 are provided and lower the levers and thereby vary the of the cam faces on the shafts 49L i In the form of the invention shown, the cam faces H8 engage the shaft 48 when the pairs of rolls are in a certain relative position so as to elevate r011 88 and in further movement of the rolls 90 and 92 towards the rolls 85 and SB the screws H6 on the studs act as fulcrums-so that the pivoted end of lever H0 elevates roll 92 to separate it from the roll 90.

The parts may be constructed and arranged to elevate the upper rolls in any desired position of the pairs of rolls thereby to release the material between the rolls so that it may assume the desired position. I some cases it may be desired to separate the rolls of the pairs simultaneously or to separate the rolls of one pair before those of the other pair are separated and the separation may take place at any desired position of the dies or other mechanism to which material is being fed.

In other cases it may be desired to operate the separating means from the member 14 or from the relatively movable parts to which the material is being fed, all within the scope of the invention.

In lieu of the cap members 30 and 52, it is desired to employ cap members such as I that have spaced ribs I22. A plate I24 guided for up and down movement between the ribs I22 and a lever I26 is pivoted at I28 between the ribs of the cap.

Screws I30 in threaded engagement with the bar I24 at its opposite ends act on springs I32 that yieldingly bear on the blocks 26 for the shaft 40.

to raise action The lever I26 and its pivotal connection with the cap are constructed and arranged so that when in lower clamping position there is an eccentric actionto cause the lever to be releasably locked in this position. The lever acts on the I members I24 which in turn through screws I32 causes the springs to yieldingly bear on the blocks 26 whereby the upper roll is yieldingly urged towards the lower one. I

The upper roll may be quickly released by swinging the lever I26 upwardly from the position or to enable it to become adjusted ineach cycle of operation of the mechanism. i

While I have described the invention in great detail and with respectto the present preferred form thereof, it is not desired to belimited thereto since many changes and modifications may be madetherein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: 1

l. The combination with relatively reciprocable members movable towards and away from one another offeed mechanism comprising, a sup port adapted to besecu'red to one of said members, a carriage guided for straight line movements back and forth thereon, a cam on one of said members engageable with said carriage to move the same in one direction on the support as the members move relative to one another in one direction, pairs of rolls on said carria'g e; and'on said support for receiving therebe tween a strip of material, yielding means to hold the rolls of the pairs in relatively yieldable engagement, means for permitting free rotation of the rolls incertain directions and holding them against rotation in other directions, means to move the said carriage in an opposite direction as thecarriage is disengaged by said cam, and roll separating means operating to overcome the yielding means and separate the rolls of one pair when the pairs of rolls are in a certain predetermined position.

2. The combination with relatively reciprocable members movable towards and away from one another of feed mechanism comprising, a support adapted to be secured to one of said members, a carriage guided for straight line movements back and forth thereon, a cam on one of said members engageable with said carriage to move the same in one direction on the support as the members move relative to one another in one direction, pairs of rolls on said carriage and on said support for receiving therebetween a strip of material, yielding means to hold the rolls of the pairs in relatively yielding engagement, means for permitting free rotation of the rolls in certain directions and holding them against rotation in other directions, means to move the carriage in an opposite direction as the carriage is disengaged by said cam, and means to separate the rolls of the pairs of rolls when said pairs of rolls are in a certain predetermined position, said means including a member pivoted on one roll of one pair having a part for engaging the corresponding roll of the other pair.

3. The combination with relatively reciprocable members movable towards and away from one another of feed mechanism comprising, a support adapted to be secured to one of said members, a carriage guided for straight line movements back and forth thereon, a cam on one of said members engageable with said carriage to move the same i in one direction on the support as the members move relative to one another in one direction. pairs of rolls on said carriage and on said support for receiving therebetween a strip of material, yielding means to hold the rolls of the pairs in relatively yielding engagement, means for permitting free rotation of the rolls in certain directions and holding them against rotation in other directions, means to move the carriage in an opposite direction as the carriage is disengaged by said cam, and means to separate the rolls of the pairs of rolls when said pairs of rolls are in a certain predetermined position, said means including members pivoted on one roll of the pair of rolls on said carriage having parts engaging the correspending roll of the other pair.

tion of the'rolls in certain directions and holding them against rotation in other directions, means to move the carriage in an opposite direction as the carriage is disengaged by said cam, and means to separate the rolls of the pairs of rolls when said pairs of rolls are in a certain predetermined position, said means including levers pivoted to the upper roll of the pair of rolls of the carriage having a cam part for engaging beneath the corresponding roll of the other pair and means associated with said levers and carriage adapted for engagement to act as iulcrums for said levers when engaging said corresponding roll.

5. The combination with relatively reciprocable members movable towards and away from one another of feed mechanism comprising, a support adapted to be secured to one of said members, a carriage guided for straight line movements back and forth thereon, a cam on one of said members engageable with said carriage to move the same in one direction on the support as th members move relative to one another in one direction, pairs of yieldingly mounted rolls on said carriage and on said support for receiving therebetween and yieldingly engaging a strip of material, means for permitting free rotation of the rolls in certain directions and holding them against rotation in other directions, means to move the carriage in an opposite direction as the carriage is disengaged by said cam, and means operable by the position of the rolls to overcome the yielding engagement of the rolls of the pairs of rolls when said pairs of rolls are in a certain predetermined relative position.

HUBERT E. DICKERMAN. 

